He saw and believed
December 27, 2022 - Feast of St. John
John 20:1-8
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist. The Gospel connected with this feast presents three persons by the empty tomb of Jesus: Mary Magdalene; Peter, and the beloved disciple whom the tradition of the Church identified as St. John.
In the Gospel of John, the name of John never appears. However, there is someone described as “the other disciple” and the disciple that Jesus loved. These two descriptions refer to one person and make him an ideal author, perfect disciple, and witness.
An ideal author. When John the Baptist said that Jesus was the lamb of God, two of his disciples heard it and immediately followed Jesus. One of them was Andrew, the other one was ‘the other disciple’. And so, being with Christ from the beginning makes Saint John an ideal author of the Gospel.
An ideal disciple. During the Last Supper, we are told that one of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus. He was” reclining on the chest of Jesus" indicating his privileged position among other disciples. This phrase also reveals his special access and the deep relationship he had with Jesus. The Son of God is in the chest of the Father(John 1:18); Saint John was reclining on the chest of the Lord.
An ideal witness. Today’s Gospel depicts this unique disciple as entering the empty tomb and immediately understanding what happened. The phrase, ‘he saw and believed’, summarizes it all. He saw the empty tomb and burial clothes inside the tomb properly folded the way we fold our clothes after getting up from sleep. And he believed in the resurrection of Christ, of which our Lord spoke when he was still alive.
St. John, apostle and evangelist, pray for us that in our times we can become true disciples of Christ and faithful witnesses of his resurrection. Amen.